Last year in Hawaii I tried some dried Ahi, or tuna. It was cut into strips and salted, then dried. The stuff was delicious. I’ve been thinking about that stuff ever since. I got busy and searched recipes for similar freshwater fish and found out that Lake Superior’s Lakers, rd fins that is, make excellent dried fish porducts too soooo…..
I took a lake trout from the freezer that was destined for the smoker and cut it into strip about 1/2″ thick and 1/2″ wide. I mixed 1 part Mortons Tenderqwik and three parts canning salt in a bowl and added the fish pieces and gave then a good tossing to coat them evenly. Then the bowl went to the fridge. I hand mixed the fish every 4 hours or so. After two days in the salt the fish has hardened as I was told it would and it came out to get a series of cold water rinses. The fish was then laid on a heavy towel to drain and air dry a little before going on dehydrator racks.
The fish has been drying since yesterday at mid-morning and today some smaller piece that were left to test the dryness were firm, almost hard, and had the shiney surface I was told would be noticeable when the fish was ready. I am waiting to try one of the small pieces until we get home from church at noon so I don’t smell like I dined on sardines before service lol. The fish is actually drying faster than I thought it would and really there is no fish smell to the process.
When finished the fish stores in a covered jar, no cold needed. Supposedly. We’ll see. And if things seem to need a little extra I can always slip this stuff in the smoker for an hour or two to give it some character, but I am hopeful that the dried product is good as is. I’ll be letting ya’ll know in a day or two.
